‘Most Wanted’ Sentenced In Queens

By LIZ GOFF

An ex-fugitive featured on the television crime show, America’s Most Wanted, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for a blast of gunfire that killed one man and left another permanently disabled.

A Queens jury last month convicted Danny Williams, 34, of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault in the shootings that shocked the city and kicked off an eight-year manhunt for Williams, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

According to trial testimony, Williams and accomplice, Reginald Artis, 21 at the time, armed with a shotgun and a handgun, approached victims Roshawn Tate, 22, and Mark Belizaire, 21, just after midnight on May 28, 2002 as the two men stood outside 87-22 148th Street in Jamaica.

In an alleged act of retaliation for a robbery earlier that day, Williams and Artis opened fire on the victims, striking each multiple times with the shotgun. Williams and Artis fled the blood-splattered scene, leaving the victims sprawled on the sidewalk.

Tate, who tried to run for his life, suffered several gunshot wounds to the back and was pronounced dead at the scene. Belizaire suffered multiple injuries to his torso and legs, including nerve damage that left him permanently disabled.

A Queens County grand jury indicted Williams and Artis for the crimes on July 22, 2004, the District Attorney said.

Investigators tracked down Artis and arrested him on October 10, 2003, Brown said. He was held without bail and pleaded guilty on April 11, 2006 to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Artis was sentenced on January 7, 2008 to nine years in state prison, Brown said.

Police at the NYPD Fugitive Task Force caught up with Williams in Jackson, New Jersey and arrested him on July 19, 2010 after he was featured in two segments of America’s Most Wanted, Brown said. Police from the New Jersey town assisted in the arrest.

Following a jury trial in Queens Supreme Court that resulted in his conviction, Williams was sentenced on February 29, to 50 years to life in prison for the shooting death of Tate and the attempted murder of Belizaire, Brown said.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak also sentenced Williams to one and a third to four years in prison for a probation violation.

“Today’s sentence is a measure of justice for the victims of this defendant,” Brown said. “Violence such as this will not be tolerated on the streets of Queens County.

“The defendant fled the jurisdiction and was able to delay justice – but ultimately he was captured, with the help of America’s Most Wanted and will now begin serving a lengthy prison sentence.”